Such a picture of accomplishment is appropriate for a novel like Ayn Rand’s since Rand was all about the glorious nature of human achievement. Born during the days of upheaval in early 20th century Russia, she never embraced the tenets of communism. Later emmigrating to the United States, she developed a philosophy of her own called “objectivism.” At the center of her vision is an heroic image of the individual who can accomplish anything he or she sets her mind to achieve. In that sentence, the key word is “mind.” For many pages toward the end of the novel, Ayn Rand becomes Ayn Rant as she excoriates those who have neglected the mind to favor either the body or the soul, observing: “Man has a single basic choice: to think or not, and that is the gauge of his virtue” (969-70).

The life of the mind and its resulting achievement has many enemies. The novel centers around Dagny Taggart, the female archetype of Ayn Rand’s philosophy. Taggart is vice-president of operations for a transcontinental railroad. As the collectivist philosophy gains a strangle-hold on the country, Dagny struggles first to keep trains running on-time, then to keep them running at all. Her arch-nemesis is her own spineless brother, Jim, who is president of the railroad and a tool of the oppressive and stifling government bureaucracy. Dagny allies herself with other captains of industry who keep alive a vision of progress even as the world crumbles around them, the logical consequence of a worldview that punishes intelligence and excellence. One inventor has seen enough, and hastens the world’s decay by doing the one thing that the present system cannot accept. What is that inventor’s name? What does he do? Therein lies a tale.

In a post-script to her book, Ayn Rand summarizes her system of thought:

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”

Unfortunately, in one area, Ayn Rand sets up a straw man only to knock it over. She portrays belief in the supernatural as an enemy and altruism as nonsense. This flies in the face of the Protestant principle, the bedrock of the work ethic in America. Far from being “mystic moochers,” as she labels people of faith, it is because one realizes that work is peformed to the glory of God that one must do one’s best. Further, Christ’s command to love God includes the command to love Him with all one’s mind. There is no conflict between the life of faith and productive, intelligent work here on this earth. Belief in a hereafter does not negate the importance of the here-and-now. As servants, we look to a day when the master will come and find us working. Yet Jesus’ command to love God includes the love of neighbor. Having done our purposeful best for God, whatever the task at-hand, we will help a down-and-out neighbor so that he or she in-turn can find a place of purposeful and thoughtful labor, to the glory of God.

Ayn Rand’s philosophy has merit. A central theme to Atlas Shrugged is the issue of how we treat our best and brightest. Do we reward them for their initiative and hard work, or do we punish them as “selfish”? Have we inadvertantly rewarded mediocrity, then scratched our heads when all we end up with is mediocrity? These are timely questions as the United States slips further behind other countries in test scores in math and the sciences. Does “no child left behind” focus our efforts on making the mediocre a little less mediocre, thereby letting the gifted languish in boredom, talents buried and potential untapped? Why should they pursue excellence when the superior income that excellence one day brings will only be taxed at a higher level? Atlas Shrugged, written in 1957, still has something to say in today’s politial dialogue.

Ayn Rand will remain an innovative and intriguing figure in philosophy. While her objectivism is blind to what Christian faith has contributed to the advance of the United States, her unique background gives her a positive spin on capitalism that we hear too little these days. As a novelist, her skills are average. The reader can’t help but think that a book half as long would make the same point more powerfully. Despite its weaknesses, Atlas Shrugged is worth the effort and will stretch your thinking.

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Meet Greg

Gregory Crofford, M.A., Ph.D. (University of Manchester, England, 2005, 2008) is an ordained elder in the church, ministering with the Church of the Nazarene. He is Dean of the School of Religion and Christian Ministry at Africa Nazarene University (Nairobi, Kenya) and Coordinator of the PhD (Religion) program. Formerly, he served as Coordinator of Education and Clergy Development for the Africa Region (Church of the Nazarene). Areas of academic interest include early Methodism, missional ecclesiology, and ecotheology.

Greg is also a graduate of Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.- missiology, 1989) and Eastern Nazarene College (B.A.- Religion, 1985). He is a member of Phi Delta Lambda, a Fellow of the Manchester Wesley Research Center (MWRC), a member of the Wesleyan Theological Society (WTS) and secretary of the African Society for Evangelical Theology (ASET).

Writings by Dr. Crofford

Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church's Mission (Wipf & Stock, 2016) explores the church's purpose and mission in two movements: 1) "breathing in" (worship and discipleship) and 2) "breathing out" (transformational service in the world). It is available in paperback for $ 13.60 USD from Wipf & Stock by clicking here..

"Greg has powerfully captured the church, 'God’s mission in the World', in these brief pages. Ecclesiology is generally a subject written and discussed in academic theological circles and rarely reaches the person in the pew. But this is one for the pew and will be valued as well."
-Jo Anne Lyon, Ambassador
General Superintendent Emerita
The Wesleyan Church

From the back cover:

"This is an excellent overview of the work of the church. Refreshing!"
- Jesse C. Middendorf, General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene

"If ever the church needed a grassroots understanding to fulfill its mission in the world in this significant time, then this is the 'back to the basics' guide so desperately needed."
- Gabriel J. Benjamin, Church of the Nazarene, Africa Region Education and Clergy Development Coordinator

"Crofford invites us into a discussion regarding the theology of church and the practical implications for ministry...This work will prove useful for the church engaged in the formation of Christlike disciples."
-Carla Sunberg, President, Professor of Historical Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary

"In promoting a healthy church, Dr. Crofford emphasizes the need for 'spiritual respiration.' His conception of church health first requires a 'breathing in' of personal growth that is spiritual, knowledgeable, and communal. Second, spiritual respiration requires a 'breathing out' that is missional, ministering practically to others for their holistic salvation, societal well-being, and ecological care-giving. . . Crofford identifies step-by-step strategies that help Christians to implement 'spiritual respiration' in finding their place in the church's mission."
-Don Thorsen, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University Seminary

The Dark Side of Destiny: Hell Re-Examined (Wipf & Stock, 2013) is available in paperback and Amazon Kindle editions by clicking here.

It is also available here for just $ 6.99 for users of the Nook e-reader.

From the back cover:

"Discussion of Hell is hotter than ever. Yet for all the attention the topic has drawn, few are the resources that provide an overview of the major points in dispute without bogging down in detail.

The Dark Side of Destiny: Hell Re-examined is an excellent primer, yet goes beyond a mere description of options. Dr Crofford weighs various views of Hell in the light of Scripture and finds them wanting. In the end, he champions a neglected view of last things that both responds better to the preponderance of biblical evidence and safeguards the character of God as equitable, holy, and loving.

With probing discussion questions at the end of short chapters, The Dark Side of Destiny is ideal for Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or small groups."

The buzz about Dark Side (from Amazon.com reviews):

"I read this book with my husband on a recent trip out of state. The book is short but says all I'd hoped it would say and does so very neatly. It gave us hours of discussions to make an otherwise dull drive very interesting." - Charlotte Burton

"Dr. Crofford thoughtfully engages with a neglected part of the biblical message: final judgment." - Andrew Pottenger

"Dr. Crofford writes well and treats all positions with gentleness and respect. Beware,-- this little gem is very thought provoking." - John Watton

Wesley and Methodist Studies (WMS) publishes peer-reviewed essays that examine the life and work of John and Charles Wesley, their contemporaries (proponents or opponents) in the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival, their historical and theological antecedents, their successors in the Wesleyan tradition, and studies of the Wesleyan and Evangelical traditions today.

Dr. Crofford's article, ‘Grace to All did Freely Move’: Thoughts on Charles Wesley’s 1741/42 Hymns on God’s Everlasting Love' appeared in Volume 6 (January 2014). Based upon research conducted during the 2012 Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar at Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmington, Kentucky, USA), the essay examines the predestinarian controversy between the Wesley brothers and the followers of George Whitefield, with special focus upon the pastoral concerns that motivated the publication of the Wesleys' hymn collection.

The Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Theology is available in hardcover by clicking here.

Dr. Al Truesale, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at Nazarene Theological Seminary, is editor of this excellent selection of essays by global scholars in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition of Christianity.

Streams of Mercy: Prevenient Grace in the Theology of John and Charles Wesley (Emeth Press, 2010) is available in both softback and Kindle editions at Amazon.com by clicking here.

This is the monograph form of Dr. Crofford's 2008 PhD thesis from the University of Manchester (Nazarene Theological College), U.K.

From the back cover of Streams of Mercy

"Exploring the theological roots of the doctrine of prevenient grace in Anglican, Puritan and Quaker sources as they streamed into the theologies of both John and Charles Wesley, Gregory Crofford has written an engaging account of the significance of this salient grace. In a work marked by careful balance, Crofford ably demonstrates that the doctrine of prevenient grace not only helped the Wesley brothers to integrate diverse elements in their respective theologies but it also enabled them to avoid rigid determinism on the one hand and the 'despair of moralism' on the other. This is an important contribution to the field."

Streams of Mercy was cited by Dr. Amos Yong (currently the Director of Fuller Theological Seminary's Center for Missiological Research) in his plenary address on religious pluralism given to the 2012 meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society held at Trevecca Nazarene University.